Universal loyalty rewards and currency consolidation

Abstract

A system and method for providing a universal loyalty rewards and currency consolidation program is disclosed. The system allows customers to make purchases and earn rewards from a plurality of participant merchants using multiple payment forms, and at the same time, allows customers to redeem rewards at both participant and non-participant merchants. The system may be implemented in both physical retail environments and online shopping environments.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for administering a loyalty rewards program for a plurality of customers and merchants, comprising:
 receiving, using a loyalty server computer, a request to create a loyalty account for a first customer;   creating, using the loyalty server computer, a loyalty reward account and associated customer identifier corresponding to the first customer;   providing to the customer a loyalty device associated with the loyalty account, wherein the customer identifier is stored within the loyalty device;   receiving, using the loyalty server computer, a first purchase information from a first merchant point of sale computer, the first purchase information comprising a purchase price, the customer identifier, and a merchant identifier, wherein the first merchant accepts any one of a plurality of payment forms from the customer to pay for the first purchase;   increasing, using the loyalty server computer, a point balance of the loyalty account based on the purchase price of the first purchase if the first merchant is a participant in the loyalty rewards program;   receiving, using the loyalty server computer, second purchase information from a second merchant point of sale computer to redeem at least a portion of the point balance toward a second purchase being made by the customer, said second purchase information comprising a second purchase price, the customer identifier, and a second merchant identifier;   reducing, using the loyalty server computer, the point balance of the loyalty account based on the second purchase; and   transmitting, using the loyalty server computer, a confirmation to the second merchant point of sale computer that the loyalty account has a sufficient balance to pay for the second purchase;   wherein said reducing and transmitting stages are performed if the second merchant is a participant in the loyalty rewards program; and   wherein said reducing and transmitting stages are performed if the second merchant is not a participant in the loyalty rewards program.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said increasing stage comprises increasing the point balance of the loyalty account by a percentage of the first purchase price if the first merchant is a participant in the loyalty rewards program. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said increasing stage comprises:
 increasing the point balance of the loyalty account based on a first formula if the first purchase is made at a first merchant; and   increasing the point balance of the loyalty account based on a second formula if the first purchase is made at a second merchant.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said increasing stage comprises:
 increasing the point balance of the loyalty account by a first percentage of the first purchase price if the first purchase is made at a first merchant; and   increasing the point balance of the loyalty account by a second percentage if the first purchase is made at a second merchant.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said increasing stage comprises:
 increasing the point balance of the loyalty account based on a first formula if the first purchase is made during a first date range; and   increasing the point balance of the loyalty account based on a second formula if the first purchase is made during a second date range.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a customer computer, a request to make at least a portion of said point balance available for redemption toward future purchases; and   transferring, using the loyalty server, said portion of said point balance to a prepaid access card account, said prepaid access card account associated with said loyalty device.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the merchant point of sale computer is located within a physical retail location. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the merchant point of sale computer comprises a web server and said first purchase is made using an online shopping interface. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said loyalty device comprises a magnetic stripe card. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said loyalty device comprises a keyfob device. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said loyalty device comprises an electronically stored information packet on a personal mobile device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said personal mobile device comprises a mobile phone. 
     
     
         13 . A system for providing universal loyalty rewards to a customer, comprising:
 a loyalty server configured to:   receive purchase information for purchases made by the customer at multiple merchants, said purchase information comprising a customer identifier associated with a customer loyalty account maintained on the loyalty server;   increase a point balance in the loyalty reward account associated with the customer for purchases made at a merchant participating in the loyalty rewards program, wherein the merchant accepts multiple forms of payment from the customer for the purchase; and   transfer at least a portion of the points to be available for use toward purchases at both the participating merchants and non-participating merchants when requested by a customer computer.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the server is further configured to load said transferred points into a prepaid access card account associated with a prepaid access card assigned to the customer, said prepaid access card being accepted at both participating merchants and non-participating merchants. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the loyalty server is configured to increase the point balance of the loyalty account by a percentage of a first purchase price if the first merchant is a participant in the loyalty rewards program. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 ,
 wherein the loyalty server is configured to increase the point balance of the loyalty account based on a first formula if a first purchase is made at a first merchant; and   wherein the loyalty server is configured to increase the point balance of the loyalty account based on a second formula if the first purchase is made at a second merchant.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the loyalty server is configured to:
 increase the point balance of the loyalty account by a first percentage of a first purchase price if the first purchase is made at a first merchant; and   increase the point balance of the loyalty account by a second percentage if the first purchase is made at a second merchant.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the loyalty server is configured to:
 increase the point balance of the loyalty account based on a first formula if the first purchase is made during a first date range; and   increase the point balance of the loyalty account based on a second formula if the first purchase is made during a second date range.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the loyalty server is further configured to:
 receive, from a customer computer, a request to make at least a portion of said point balance available for redemption toward future purchases; and   transfer said portion of said point balance to a prepaid access card account, said prepaid access card account associated with said loyalty account.   
     
     
         20 . A system for providing universal loyalty rewards to a customer, comprising:
 a merchant server for providing an online shopping interface;   a loyalty server for administering the loyalty rewards program; and   a loyalty API loaded on said merchant server and in communication with said online shopping interface, said loyalty API being configured to communicate with said loyalty server;   wherein said loyalty API transmits purchase information to said loyalty server, said purchase information related to a purchase made by the customer using the online shopping interface;   wherein the loyalty server adds points to the customer's loyalty account based on the purchase information; and   wherein, upon request of a customer computer, the loyalty server is configured to transfer at least a portion of the points to be available for use toward purchases at both participating merchants and non-participating merchants when requested by a customer computer.